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About Central Florida Gardener

Welcome and thank you for visiting Central Florida Gardener. Florida is a unique state in which to garden. It can be frustrating but also rewarding for gardeners who persevere. This blog was created as a resource for Florida gardeners, both new and experienced, in search of information specifically for Florida gardens.

You are invited to participate by leaving your comments, suggestions, tips and recommendations relevant to Florida gardening - don't be shy! Thank you for dropping by to learn more about gardening in the Sunshine state. I look forward to hearing from you! Susan

Monday, February 28, 2011

The Spring Vegetable Garden

In early to mid-March, once the threat of freezing temperatures is greatly reduced, warm-season crops can be planted in the garden. But, remember if you plant early...you may need to protect young seedlings if the temperatures drop.

Warm-season vegetables...those that will produce through mid-June (some longer) are:

Garden Tip: Rosemary is a great year round herb to plant in the garden...even if you don't cook with it. It doesn't freeze, it's fragrant and it makes a great looking landscape plant.

Planting seeds is most economical, but to harvest tomatoes before summer's heat and humidity arrive, you'll need to start your seeds in pots the first two weeks in January, and bring them indoors to protect them from cold weather. If you're just getting started now, buy already established plants from a local nursery and plant directly into the garden.

Garden Note:You can still plant cool-season varieties such as: broccoli, carrots, lettuce and radishes that should produce into May (better to get them planted by February 15th). But, if you have limited garden space, you may want to stick with warm-season varieties for a longer harvest time.To extend the tomato season into summer, try the new heat-resistant varieties available such as: Solar Set and Sunmaster, or plant some cherry tomato varieties which will do better during the hot months. My favorites are chocolate cherry, black cherry and sun gold.

This is great!! I thought I had missed my window of opportunity to plant my square garden beds. Now I just need to find some rock dust to supplement my soil.Thank so much for getting me inspired to put the garden in.Peace and Raw Health,Elizabeth

Regarding Tomatoes, my humble advice to folks would be: Sunmaster Tomatoes do well both in pots and in the soil. If you are going to put them in the soil, line the hole with newspaper, add a cup of dog food, some slow release fertilizer or fish emulsion, water well then put good potting soil with the tomato. I have found Sunmaster (zone 10/11) still produces through July. Transplant young tomatoes either on a cloudy day or in the morning. If you are growing on a patio, put a banana in the potting soil and watch them take off.

Lots of sun, fertilizer, and ample moisture are the keys to success. You also should plant only what you want, and not too much of what you want. Use pots for moisture control and to make future plantings easier: just replace with clean soil and plant.

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Working as a "Garden Coach" I helped Lance & Vickie King of Orlando transform their small front yard space. Their goal was to eliminate the grass, and create a beautiful low-maintenance landscape that incorporated three pieces of garden art (bridge, fountain & wagon) they had already purchased.

My job was to create the design and select the plants, while Lance did all the labor.

To compliment the gray tones of their home, I chose a cool-color palette of deep burgundy, rose, silvery green and white. We used a limited variety of plants (especially important in a small space), which included Aztec grass, Giant Evergreen Liriope, Red Ruffle Azaleas, Lorapetlum, Holly Fern, Snow Queen Hibiscus, Caladiums, Bromeliads and Nandina.

Before (1)

Too many different elements created a chopped up look.

Before (2)

A sparse flowerbed with an old pot, poor grass and messy palmettos in the background.